Of Roses and Flames
by Pandah Rhia
Summary: A new girl comes into the lives of Koenma's detectives. She makes friends and fits in quickly, so the detectives know something's up when she mysteriously disappears one day.  I suck at summaries. The story's better, I promise! Slight OCxKurama
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story here on . I can't promise that I'll update regularly, but I'll do my best. :) This story is written for my enjoyment; I'm posting it here so that you guys can read it, too. Review, if you'd like, and suggest ideas as well, but flaming is not welcome.**

**I'd like to thank my cousin Madarao The Authoress for being an awesome beta! Without her, this first chapter probably would not have ever been completed. She's amazing, so if you guys haven't read any of her work, check her out! **

**I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its sexy characters, but I do own Ashton and any other original characters I may decide to throw in.**

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The night was calm, quiet. A gentle breeze rustled through the trees' leaves. The full moon illuminated the lands. The chirp of crickets and the occasional croak of a frog or hoot of an owl filled the air. The night's siren song gave the illusion that everything within the universe was as it should be.

A faint whimper interrupted the orchestrated music. It was not human or animalistic, yet somewhere in-between. It was quiet, but even after the sound had faded away, the music did not begin again.

A girl stumbled from the forest. Stopping at the edge, she leaned against one of the trees. She was small and petite in stature. A blood soaked silk kimono clothed her frame; it was ripped in several places to reveal deep wounds. Purple bruises blossomed, standing out in stark contrast against her pale skin. Hair that had once been silky and smooth was now matted with blood. Perched atop her head was a set of fox ears, fuzzy enough that they almost appeared to be unreal. They were very much real, though, twitching even as they took in the softest sounds.

Using the tree for support still, she closely examined her surroundings. Nearby were three houses, each separated by a fence. Two of the backyards, she noted, were cluttered with children's toys. It was the third house, though, that really caught her eye. A large flower garden took up most of the free space. The girl could make out the shapes of rose bushes, pots of herbs, and beds of daisies and tulips. Seemingly interested, she slowly began to walk towards the garden and house, pain showing on her face with each step she took. She passed by the plants, though, as if they weren't even there; her grey eyes were locked on the house's backdoor. To her, it seemed as if an eternity had passed by before she reached her destination. Fighting off fatigue, she raised a small, clenched fist and knocked on the door, hoping to wake the house's occupants. Lady Luck must have been smiling on her at that time, for the door soon opened.

"Help me," the girl pleaded before succumbing to the darkness that had for the longest time been swimming at the edges of her vision. She swayed on her feet for a moment before she began to fall backwards. A pair of arms reached out and grabbed her, saving her from hitting the ground.

"I don't know who you are, but even I cannot ignore your plea," spoke the redhead who now cradled the girl in his arms. He watched her for a long minute before he turned and walked back inside, closing the door with his foot. She did not stir as he carried her upstairs, and she was still unresponsive as he laid her down on his bed. Picking up a small, round, purple object off of his desk, he slipped out of the room and went back outside to his garden. Out by his roses, he opened the compact-like device.

"Botan?"

A crackling sound met the handsome boy's ears. It was soon replaced by a yawn as the face of the aforementioned, sleepy-eyed, blue-haired grim reaped flickered onto the screen.

"Kurama? Do you have any idea what time it is?" she sleepily asked. Kurama gave her a sheepish smile before teasingly replying,

"Judging by the fact that you're in pajamas and not acting all cheery, I'd say that it's quite early." Botan's cheeks flushed as she looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a spring green tank top with the word 'Bingo!' on it in rhinestones, as well as a pair of black pajama pants.

The communicator screen went black, and for a moment, Kurama wondered if the connection to Spirit World had been lost. He was debating closing the device when Botan came back onto the screen. She'd pulled a robe on over her pajamas.

"Yes, well…" She covered her mouth and yawned. "As much as I love being woken up for early morning chats, I doubt that's why you've contacted me. What's up, Kurama?" The man took a deep breath before he began to tell Botan about the girl who'd shown up at his house, the condition she'd been in, and the two word's she'd spoken to him. He finished by saying,

"Botan, I know it's early in the morning, but could you please come over? I'm sure she'd be very appreciative if you cared for her wounds in my place." The reaper blinked a couple of times before nodding. After promising that she'd soon be over, the connection ended. Kurama, though, did not turn to go back inside.

He had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind, the kind where you know you've met someone, but you're unable to stick a name or place to their face. Kurama knew he'd seen the girl somewhere, but he didn't know who she was or where they'd met. Even Youko was unable to shed any light on the situation.

Shrugging off the feeling, Kurama went back inside. He found a first aid kit and a spare set of his pajamas. He placed those in his desk chair for Botan to use when she arrived.

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Pain. Coming to her senses, that was all the girl really knew. It seemed to come from all over, dominating her every sense and thought. As she began to wake up more, the discomfort and hurting seemed to fade into the background, making way for details of her surroundings: an unfamiliar room, faint voices from somewhere nearby, and the smell of roses.

Roses. A flash of a recent scene popped into the girl's mind. She was walking through a garden where the roses' perfume hung heavy in the air. At the time, she had not paid very much attention to her surroundings. She remembered concentrating on making it to the door of the house without falling or passing out.

"That house… That must be where I am," she mumbled, opening her eyes as she sat up in the bed. She winced slightly; her muscles were sore and stiff. She looked around the room for a moment before she walked out. Pausing in the hallway, she listened to the hushed voices for a moment. From what she could tell, there were five people in the downstairs area of the house, four males and one female. Silently praying that they were good people and not enemies, she found the staircase and descended. All eyes turned to look at her as she reached the bottom step, and for a long while, no one spoke. Botan finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Oh goody, you're awake!" the bubbly girl exclaimed. She grinned and looked at her comrades. She introduced the four to the girl, ending by telling her own name.

"It's nice to meet all of you. Thank you for everything you've done for me," the girl gratefully replied. "My name is Ashton Kumari."

"A pretty name to go with a beautiful face," the carrot top that Botan had introduced as Kuwabara commented. Rising from his position on the couch, he crossed the room to where Ashton was standing. He took both of her hands in his own and stared deep into her eyes. Surprised, Ashton shifted uncomfortably.

"Beautiful, fair maiden, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?" Ashton was not given a chance to respond before Yusuke pulled Kuwabara away and hit him in the head.

"I thought you had eyes only for Yukina. Better not break her heart, dumb ass," the detective said. The two began to argue, so Botan led Ashton over to where Kurama and Hiei were sitting.

"Please excuse their behavior, Ms. Kumari," Kurama told his guest. He gave her a friendly smile. "I'm afraid that they don't know any better. They usually can't survive for five minutes without starting a fight with each other."

"They're idiots," said the red-eyed Hiei. The three looked over at the demon. He was perched in the window sill, eyes closed. After a moment, he got to his feet and walked over to Ashton. "But you… You are a demon. What are you doing here in the Human Realm?" Ashton looked away from the demon's gaze. The room fell silent once more, and she felt all eyes on her again, waiting for her to speak.

"I was being pursued in the plains of Demon World. I must have stumbled upon a portal to here… But I'm not exactly sure," she quietly replied. "I can't even tell you where I'm originally from. All I can really tell you is that I'm an ice kitsune, and I'm being hunted for some reason."

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**Yay! The first chapter is complete! May anyone who bothered to read this enjoy it. :)  
And review also, pretty, pretty please! The reviews are what will keep me alive, and without me living, I kind of can't update this.**

**Much love,  
Pandah  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two is here! :)**

**Let me tell you, this chapter almost didn't get written this week... After nagging from Madarao, I started it this past weekend, but little work got done on it because I got sick earlier this week. But I woke up this morning and didn't want to disappoint anyone, so I wrote this chapter.**

**Speaking of Madarao, she is such a wonderful beta and cousin. :) So I put her in this story (mostly because she demanded it, but whatever). So Kaitlyn, I love you bunches for being amazing! 3**

**Unfortunately, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, even though I'd love to. But I do own Ashton and Madarao.

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**

"What do you mean; we don't have any files on that girl?" Koenma cried out, nearly spitting out his pacifier. Hands clenched by his side, the toddler-sized ruler glared up at George. The ogre fidgeted nervously, looking anywhere but into the chocolate-colored eyes of his furious boss. It had been nearly a week since Ashton had come to meet the detective group. Upon receiving news from Botan of the girl's appearance, he'd assigned George the task of scouring the castle's library for anything about her. A recent computer search had turned up no results, so it only served to further piss the ruler off when he was told that there was nothing about her in the written records.

"Get back in there, ogre!" Koenma commanded. "You're not to rest for even a moment until you find something about her! I don't trust her around my detective team unless I know everything there is to know about her." Eager to please his ruler, the ogre bowed and rushed off to do as he'd been told. Koenma had turned to go back to his office, but stopped when a voice from the hallway's shadows reached his ears.

"That buffoon will never find what you're looking for. You should send me to befriend her and bring her secrets to the light."

The voice belonged to none other than Madarao Yamaguchi, a neko that Koenma had recently assigned the Spirit World community service for petty crimes. She'd met Yusuke and his friends several times, and they always got along well enough. She was tall, with long black hair framing her pale face. Behind her, a slim tail lazily flicked at the air. It matched the set of ears that sat atop her head. Moving with the grace of a dancer, she stepped into the flickering torch light that dimly lit up the hallway. Her golden orbs sparkled in the light as she studied Koenma's face. The prince seemed to be weighing his options.

"Fine," he finally sighed. "You're probably our best hope right now... But if you screw this up for us…" He threateningly trailed off, and Madarao grinned in response. The shadows cast upon her face and the glint of the firelight upon her pointed, pearly-white teeth gave her a look that sent chills up Koenma's spine.

"I'll be staying with Master Genkai. Honestly, how much trouble can anyone get into at her place?" Madarao called over her shoulder as she walked away. Koenma watched her until she was out of sight, and then he sighed heavily. Had he made the right choice in allowing her to go?

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It had been an odd week for Ashton. She'd fallen into the flow of life at Genkai's temple easily enough, and she had made friends with everyone, but she'd been preoccupied the whole time. In her dreams, she was plagued by what she assumed to be flashes of events from her past, so she'd spent nearly every waking moment trying to piece them together to figure out what they meant. So far, she hadn't had very much luck.

She was sitting outside with Keiko, Yukina, and Botan. Nearby, Kuwabara and Yusuke were engaged in a fist fight. Kurama had disappeared earlier that morning, and none of them had seen Hiei for days.

"Every time I see you guys, you're fighting!"

Yusuke and Kuwabara's fight ended with those words. Their attention was drawn to a tree at the edge of Genkai's forest. The girls followed their gazes. The slim form of a dark-haired neko met them.

"Madarao!" Keiko exclaimed, jumping to her feet. She ran over to the girl and hugged her tightly. Madarao laughed cheerfully as everyone crowded around her.

"It's nice to see all of you again," she told them. She studied all of her friends for a moment before looking over at the group's newest addition.

"You must be Ashton," she said. The kitsune momentarily looked surprised, as if she hadn't been paying attention and hadn't expected to be addressed. As she slowly nodded, Madarao grinned before continuing on. "I'm Madarao. We're gonna be great friends, I promise." Having nothing to say, Ashton nodded again. Madarao grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her away from the group.

"I'm gonna show you around. None of them know this temple and its grounds like I do," she proudly announced. Then the two were gone.

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Botan worriedly glanced out of the kitchen window. The girls had cooked dinner and washed all the dishes, and it was well after dark, but Madarao and Ashton had yet to return to the temple.

"Botan, I'm sure they're fine." The grim reaper looked over at Keiko and nodded. She looked out of the window once more before she walked over to the table and sat down with her friend.

"I'm sure you're right. Madarao knows where it's safe to go on these grounds and where it's best to stay away from," she replied after a long moment, trying hard to sound like she believed her words. Knowing that Botan didn't, though, Keiko rolled her eyes and stood.

"Come on, then. We'll go find them." Botan blinked a couple of times as she stared at Keiko, surprised by her words. She didn't protest the idea, though. She was too worried about her friends to sit around any longer.

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Keiko and Botan had been searching for Ashton and Madarao for nearly an hour. They'd walked the grounds closest to the temple first, but, having no luck, they'd entered the forest, hoping to find the two girls quickly so they could return inside.

"Even with this flashlight, I can barely see anything!" Botan said in a loud whisper. The one the two had grabbed before leaving the temple didn't give good light; it was dim and flickering, as if it was about to go out at any given moment. It was the only light they had, though, since very little moonlight reached them through the thick treetops.

A rustling in the brush behind the girls made them jump and turn around. Botan shone the light on it. A pair of yellow eyes watched the two from low to the ground. Botan and Keiko screamed as the eyes disappeared. The flashlight fell from the reaper's hand, the light going out as soon as it hit the ground. The two were left alone and in the dark.

Trembling where they stood, they did not make a sound, afraid of attracting whatever they'd seen – or something worse– to them. After what seemed like ages, the silence was finally broken, and the two were illuminated by a light that nearly blinded them.

"Thank goodness! We finally found you two!" The voice belonged to Ashton. Handing the flashlight to Madarao, she rushed forward and tightly hugged the two. "We were so worried… We heard you scream, and we thought something horrible had happened to you. What're you doing out here in the forest anyway?"

"We were trying to find you two, but it looks like you found us instead," Keiko replied, laughing shakily.

"Well let's get back to the temple. This forest isn't really the place for you two to be." Madarao turned and began to walk away. Eager to not be left behind, Ashton, Botan, and Keiko followed after her. As they exited the forest, Ashton was sure she felt someone watching them and heard their sinister laugh. Looking at the forest over her shoulder, she searched the trees.

"Ashton, come on!" Botan called to her.

"It must have just been my imagination," Ashton told herself. Shrugging, she caught up with her friends, and they all hurried inside. But as the wind blew through the trees, the laugh sounded again, deep, cold, and malicious. A set of eyes watched the temple from the top of one of the trees.

"I'll see you soon, my dear Ashton," the owner of the eyes whispered, his laugh continuing to be carried on the wind even as he disappeared.

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**And that's that! Thank you for reading, and reviews are loved!**

**But before you review, I'd like to say a little something. Reviews are loved, yes, but not if you're going to flame. I'm not the best writer, I know, but I write for my enjoyment, and that's all that matters right? So please, review only if you're going to be constructive and nice.**

**Much love,**

**Pandah  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Another chapter! Yay! :)**

**I'm glad I got this written today while I had nothing to do. Since I don't have school tomorrow, I'll have time now to get started on the fourth chapter. I hope I'll be able to finish it either today or tomorrow, but if not, it'll be later on in the week before I do...**

**Anyway, I'd like to thank Madarao for beta'ing for me again. She's such a wonderfully amazing (though not as amazing as me, of course!) person.**

**Unfortunately, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, even though I'd love to. But I do own Ashton, Madarao, Tefy, and my villian.  
**

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Ashton was not alone, of that she was very sure. Walking through a snow-blanketed valley, she thought several times that she heard the crunch of snow behind her. Each time she turned to look behind her, though, she found that she was alone and that the only set of footprints in the snow belonged to her.

She wasn't exactly sure of where she was. The valley and surrounding mountains seemed familiar to Ashton, but she wasn't sure when or if she'd ever really been there. The grey sky above carried the threat of more snow, but the kitsune seemed unconcerned. Despite feeling like she was being followed and not knowing where she was, she was calm, at peace. There in the shelter of the mountains, she almost felt like she was at home.

Her serenity was short lived.

Hearing footsteps behind her once more, Ashton stopped where she was and looked over her shoulder again. Finding no one, though, she turned her head to face forward. She gasped when she realized that she really wasn't alone any longer. The man standing before her wore a long black cloak. The hood was pulled up so that she could not see his face.

"How does it feel to be back at home, Ashton?" he asked her. His voice was deep, rich, smooth. "How does it feel to see your hometown go up in flames and know that any survivors will blame you for what has happened?" From the folds of his cloak appeared a hand; it was pointing behind Ashton, to the place where she'd come from.

"What're you talking about? There's nothing here!" Ashton replied. She turned to see what he was pointing at, though, and her grey eyes widened. She remembered that there had been no village before, yet there one sat, its homes engulfed in flames. The screams she heard sent chills through her, but the man grabbed her wrist tightly when she moved to go back to the village.

"There is no hope for them." The words spoken in her ear made Ashton fall to her knees. Before she knew it, she was sobbing, her whole frame shaking.

"You… You did this!" the kitsune screamed, looking up at the man. She glared at him, silvery tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"No, my dear, I'm afraid that _you _did this, not me." A sinister laugh filled Ashton's ears as the edges of her vision began to blur. The last thing she heard was the man telling her that they'd meet again soon.

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Ashton jerked awake and sat up in bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

"It was only a dream, Ashton…" she said to herself. Opening her eyes, she climbed out of bed and lightly padded over to the window. She opened it and leaned out, smiling a little as the night's cool air hit her skin.

"If you lean out any farther, you're going to fall." Surprised, Ashton jerked back, hitting her head hard on the window. She cursed as she rubbed the spot, and then she looked up at Hiei, glaring daggers at the demon. The Jaganshi was watching her, his expression one of boredom, like his time was being wasted by Ashton's presence.

"What are you doing in the tree outside of my window? Watching me sleep or something?" she asked him. With the moon behind Hiei, the light did not hit his face, but Ashton was almost sure that his cheeks reddened. Just as quickly as she'd thought it happened, though, it was gone.

"That might be your room, but I was here long before you were. This tree is mine," replied Hiei. A slight 'hmph' escaping her lips, Ashton closed the window.

"You can claim it as yours all you want, but I'd better not ever catch you looking in on me," she muttered. Feeling wide awake, Ashton left her room and made her way downstairs. She walked into the kitchen. Kurama, who was sitting at the table, looked up and smiled.

"What're you still doing up?" Ashton asked. "It's four in the morning." She poured herself a glass of juice and sat down across from Kurama. He marked his page in his book and sat it down before he spoke.

"I just couldn't sleep. I came down here a while ago to read," the redhead explained. Ashton took a sip of her juice and picked the book up. She read the back of it and raised an eyebrow.

"_Romeo and Juliet_? You never struck me as the kind of guy that would read Shakespeare." She sat the book down again and looked at her friend. Kurama gave a slight laugh as he shrugged.

The two continued to talk together. When it came time to cook breakfast, they did it together. The smell of food quickly brought Yusuke, Kuwabara, Keiko, and Madarao to the kitchen. Botan had returned to the Spirit World late the previous night. Genkai and Yukina had left early that morning to go visit an old friend, and Hiei had, in no uncertain terms, told them earlier that week that he refused to grace them with his presence and share a table with them.

Halfway through the morning meal, a portal opened in the kitchen doorway, and Botan stepped through. The Spirit World guide was clad in her light pink kimono, and she had an air of seriousness about her.

"Yusuke, Koenma has another mission for you, and I'm afraid that this one simply cannot wait." The detective paid her no mind, simply continuing to shovel food into his open mouth. When his plate was empty, he finally looked at Botan, who, by this time, looked as if she was ready to kill the detective.

"Alright, alright… If the toddler's made another mess that needs to be cleaned up, I guess we don't have any choice but to clean it up," he sighed. He pushed his chair back and stood. He, Kuwabara, Kurama, Hiei, and Madarao left with Botan, and Keiko and Ashton were alone.

"This is slightly depressing," Ashton commented as she began to clear off the table. Keiko nodded as she helped.

"With those guys, there's hardly a time when Koenma doesn't have them doing something for him," she said. She shook her head as she rinsed the soap off of a plate she'd just washed, and she handed it to Ashton to dry and put away. "He keeps them busy practically all the time, doing this, that, and the other to keep the world safe. It's a difficult job, but even though Yusuke complains about it so much, I know that there's nothing else he'd rather be doing with his life."

Madarao returned as the two finished the dishes. Keiko left soon after, saying she was going to see her parents for the day.

"You're back soon," Ashton commented as she dried her hands. Madarao nodded slightly.

"I went to speak to Koenma about something he's looking into for me," she replied. She showed Ashton a picture of a three-year-old child. "This is Tefy, my daughter. I've raised her by myself since she was born. She's all I have, and she was taken from me a few weeks ago. Koenma's trying to find her for me." The little girl was the spitting image of her mother, right down to the look she had in her eyes. Ashton couldn't help but smile.

"She's adorable, Madarao!" She returned the photo and smiled. "I hope Koenma can locate her soon so that she can be with you again."

"He must not be looking hard enough. The little brat isn't hidden that well, to be honest." Recognizing the voice from her dream, Ashton turned to look at the man in the doorway; Madarao mimicked her movement. He was still wearing the cloak, his face hidden by the hood.

"What have you done with Tefy?" Madarao angrily asked. Her hands clenched by her sides; tiny flames could be seen dancing on her skin for a brief moment. "Where is my baby? What have you done with her, you bastard?"

"You will see her in time. As soon as I have what I want, you can have your daughter back."

"And just what is it that you want?" Ashton asked, looking from the man to Madarao and back. The man turned his attention to her, but did not speak immediately.

"Funny you should ask," he mused, "because you are at the center of all of my plans, my dear Ashton."

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**And that's that! :) Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.**

**Much love,**

**Pandah  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four is complete! I honestly cannot believe I was motivated to write three whole chapters this weekend! **

**I'd like to thank Madarao and Lilith for keeping me motivated to continue on with this story. Also, a huge thanks is owed to anyone and everyone who has read and reviewed so far. You guys are amazing, and I couldn't have gotten this far without you!**

**Unfortunately, I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, even though I'd love to. But I do own my OCs.  
**

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Three days had passed since the boys had left on their mission and the cloaked man had shown up at Genkai's. When Keiko returned to the temple, Ashton and Madarao had not informed her of the visit, but the two were careful to be on guard at all times since the boys had yet to return. The last thing they wanted was to be caught off guard and have someone get hurt because of it.

It was a warm Saturday morning, and the three were sitting together outside. The sun was shining above them. There were no clouds in the sky. A gentle breeze made the tree's leaves softly rustle.

"It's so quiet around here with the boys gone," Keiko sighed. She stood and stretched, a slight yawn escaping her lips, and then she looked at Madarao and Ashton.

"I have an idea," she happily announced to the two. She smiled at her friends. "Let's leave the temple for the day. We can go see a movie or something. It'll be a lot of fun!" Ashton and Madarao looked at each other and shrugged.

"That does sound pretty nice," Ashton finally said. "Let's do that." The three returned inside and quickly readied themselves for the day. As soon as they were all finished, they left the temple.

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"You'd think that all these stupid demons would learn not to mess with us!" Yusuke exclaimed, frustrated. As if to make a point, he delivered a punch to the green, mottle-skinned demon that had tried to sneak up on him. Hearing a loud _snap_ as the bones in the demon's nose gave way, the detective couldn't help but smile. The being paid no mind to his injury and continued to try to attack Yusuke. The boy sent him to his grave with a Spirit Gun blast to the head.

Koenma had received word that a hole in the barrier between the worlds had been found, and that a group of demons was attempting to get through to wreak havoc on the Human World. He'd sent Yusuke and his team to take care of the group so that the barrier could be repaired and the hole closed up. Botan hadn't been able to transport them directly to the site, though, so they'd had to travel through Demon World to get where they needed to be. That had taken them the better part of the three days they'd been away.

"That seems to be the last of them," Kurama commented, surveying their surroundings. Around them lay the bodies of at least a hundred demons, most dead, the rest too injured to continue fighting. The blood of the deceased colored the earth, and the metallic smell of it hung heavy in the air. Yusuke made a face and wrinkled his nose at the scent.

"Splendid job, boys!" Botan's voice came from behind them. The four turned to see the reaper floating in the air on her oar. Yusuke glared at her for a moment.

"How're you able to magically appear here now when you couldn't three days ago?" he angrily asked. Botan covered her mouth as she giggled.

"There wasn't anything stopping me from coming here then," she told him. "But Koenma specifically told me not to bring you straight here, or anywhere close, for that matter. I think he wanted to get back at you for calling him a toddler again." Upon hearing that, Yusuke's right eye began to twitch slightly. After a few moments, he began to laugh.

"Two people can play at that game," he said, grinning. "I'll get him back for making us travel for so long."

Little more was exchanged before Botan took them back to Genkai's temple. Hiei, as usual, disappeared as soon as they entered the temple grounds. A kind of eerie quietness filled the air.

"The girl's must have gone out for the day," Kurama remarked as they went inside. Sighing contentedly, Yusuke flopped down on the couch, arms folded behind his head as he stretched out.

"Let them stay gone," he replied. The detective yawned and closed his chocolate eyes. "It's always so loud when they're here. With all this peace and quiet, I can finally take a nice long nap." Within fifteen minutes, he was doing exactly what he wanted. His snores filled the room, driving Kuwabara and Kurama out.

Yusuke's nap didn't last long before it was interrupted. A loud crash from outside woke him up.

"Somebody's going to die today," he grumbled as he, Kuwabara, and Kurama ran outside. The air was filled with dirt and debris, making it hard for the three to see the source of the noise. As it cleared, though, a feminine figure could be made out. She stood at just over five feet tall. She was wearing a white kimono that stopped mid-thigh and showed off her long, slender legs. A black dragon decorated the silk. The obi and edge of the sleeves were black as well, and black stilettos were paired with the outfit. Her hair was white with streaks of neon purple. The twitching purple tips were all that could be seen of her ears. The rest blended well with her hair. She wore a white mask over her face; scarlet-flecked silver eyes watched the boys from behind the mask. Strapped to her back was a folded, oversized white fan. As the dust cleared and the debris settled, a crater three feet in diameter could be seen separating the three from the girl.

"What the hell?" Yusuke exclaimed. "Who are you? Why the hell'd you do that?" She ignored his questions, choosing instead to ask one of her own.

"Where is the kitsune?"

"Ashton? What do you want with her?" Kurama asked, twirling a blood red rose between the index finger and thumb of his right hand. He wanted to be prepared in the event that the girl attacked them. She didn't, though; she merely laughed, the bell-like sound ringing in the air.

"Let's just say that I have important business with her," she replied. She inhaled as if to speak again, but paused for a long moment before adding,

"Although… It seems that she is not here at the moment. I suppose I must take my leave for now." Pulling her fan from her back, it unfolded, and a cloud of dirt was blown at the three. They shut their eyes tight and shielded them with their arms. When the dirt settled again, the girl was gone, but the wind carried the message,

"Tell Ashton that Kilala is coming back to see her."

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The dishes had been washed and put away after supper. Ashton didn't have much to do since her work had been finished. She was sitting on her bed in her room. A book was open in her lap, and she was staring at the page, not seeing the words that were printed there. A gentle knock on the door brought her from her thoughts. Sighing, she placed the book aside.

"Come in," she called. The door opened, and Kurama stepped into the room. He shut the door and leaned back against the wall.

"I have a message for you," he said. He told her of the visitor that had shown up after they'd returned from their mission. Ashton eyed him skeptically as he spoke.

"Are you _sure _she said her name was Kilala?" she asked. She shook her head slightly. "I don't find that one bit funny, Kurama. Kilala was my best friend. Despite our differences, we were like sisters. She died at the hands of a pack of wolf demons years ago simply because she was a neko." The redhead apologized before replying that he was positive that the name had been Kilala.

"Describe her," Ashton commanded, and Kurama did just that. Ashton's eyes widened slightly with each sentence her friend spoke.

"Oh my God," she whispered. She opened the top drawer of the nightstand beside her bed and pulled out a faded picture. It looked to be many, many years old, and the edges were ragged and worn. The picture was of two small children: Ashton and a girl that fit Kurama's description.

Ashton handed the picture to Kurama. He studied it briefly before giving a slight nod of his head as he returned the photo.

"She was wearing a mask, so we couldn't see her face. But she has the very same eyes as the girl in this picture," Kurama remarked. Ashton's expression was one of mixed emotions as she put the photograph away.

"I can't believe it," she finally said. "Kilala's back from the dead…"

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**And that's that! :) Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.**

**I told you guys that Madarao was based off my cousin, and now I'm telling you that Kilala is based off of Lilith. Kilala, aside from Ashton, is the only OC that I kept from the original draft of this story that I wrote three years ago, back then titled 'Remembering the Forgotten.' Although the two stories began pretty much exactly the same, when I found what I'd written of RtF a few weeks ago, I knew I wanted to take the story in an entirely different direction. That's how 'Of Roses and Flames' was born. **

**That's enough rambling, though, because I really doubt that anyone cares about the history of this story. XD Enjoy this chapter, and I will try to have another one written and uploaded sometime this week!  
**

**Much love,**

**Pandah**


	5. Chapter 5

**Four chapters in four days! Is the world ending or something? **

**I don't really have much to say about this chapter... It doesn't really progress the story very much, but it goes into how Ashton and Kilala came to know each other, and I thought that was necessary to the story. So that's what this chapter is, and I'm happy with how it turned out**

**Also, I've recently been debating writing either a prequel or a sequel to this story, or maybe even both. I haven't completely made up my mind yet, though, but what do you guys think of that idea? Would you be interested in reading it, or not?  
**

**Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.**

**

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**"My, my… You have changed quite a bit since I last saw you, Ashton," Kilala commented, gazing into the jeweled mirror she was holding in her hands. Instead of seeing her reflection as with any normal mirror, she was looking at Ashton's sleeping form, studying her old friend. A contented purr escaped from her lips, quickly turning into a giggle.

"What's so amusing?" Kilala looked up from her mirror to see her boss standing in her room's doorway. The neko smiled and sat the mirror on her bed.

"Just thinking what I'm going to do to that bitch when I get my hands on her, Merihk,"she cheerfully replied. "She's the reason that I was killed. I'm not going to let her ending be nearly as quick as mine was." Merihk watched the girl through narrowed golden eyes.

"You can do whatever you want to her just as long as she stays alive. If our plans are to succeed, she must not be killed," he finally said. He turned and left the room, and Kilala picked her mirror up again. A scowl found its way to her face as she continued to watch Ashton. She remembered being brought back to life by Merihk, pledging herself to him and everything that he did. Currently, their plans centered around capturing Ashton and the things they could do once she was in their possession. With the idea of revenge fresh in her mind, Kilala couldn't help thinking back to the day on which she'd died.

A runaway from a wealthy ice kingdom in the most secluded northern area of the Demon World, Ashton had taken refuge in a small village in one of the World's many forests as a child. It was there that she'd been befriended by Kilala. The two had been close, doing everything together. In their early teens, they'd aspired to one day be just like Youko Kurama, going so far as to try to attain his legendary status. It was after one of their thefts that Kilala had been attacked and killed by the wolf pack, who'd wanted revenge after they'd discovered they'd been robbed of a valuable artifact by the two. Ashton had the artifact in her possession at the time and had left, claiming she was going to hide it away and then return to help Kilala.

She never came back. Kilala died that fall morning lying beneath an ancient tree in the forest, her glassy eyes staring up at the sky even though she could no longer see it, and Ashton disappeared from the village. She took with her every valuable piece that she and Kilala had take possession of in the weeks prior. Before leaving, she set fire to the cottage she'd come to call her home. All that was left was a pile of ashes. It was almost as if she'd never been there at all.

Kilala was dead for nearly three years before she was resurrected. In the first few weeks after she'd been brought back, she hadn't trusted Merihk at all, having vowed to kill him as soon as she regained all of her strength. Upon discovering that they shared a common goal, though, she'd slowly let herself come to trust him.

Eleven years had passed before she'd begun to search for Ashton again. She'd acquired her mirror around that time, the one that allowed her to look through distances to see whoever it was that she was searching for. Seven months after her search started, Ashton's image had finally showed in the mirror. Since then, Kilala and Merihk were careful to keep a close eye on her, lest she slip away from them again. For five months, they'd been watching her, waiting for the perfect moment to make their first move against her. Kilala could sense that the time was fast approaching.

A movement in her mirror pulled Kilala from her thoughts, and she held it closer to her, watching the scene with bated breath. The door to Ashton's bedroom had opened, and the redhead that Kilala had encountered earlier –Merihk had identified him as Kurama, one of the four members of Koenma's Spirit Detective's team– slipped into the room, a thick blanket in his arms. He gingerly walked over to Ashton's bed, taking great care not to make any sounds. He unfolded the blanket and gently placed it atop the other quilt on the bed. A tiny smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

"The nights are starting to get cool. Stay warm, Ash," the fox murmured before leaving as quietly as he'd come.

"Interesting," Kilala commented as the door in the mirror closed. A grin formed on her lips. "I have such a lovely idea…"

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Botan had taken the boys to Spirit World for a meeting with Koenma. Keiko had returned to her own home for a few days, and Madarao had taken off into the forest for what she said was going to be a self-training session. Ashton had locked herself in her room. She opened her nightstand drawer and reached inside. She pulled out a silver chain with a crystal-shaped emerald pendant. It was rumored to be a source of great power, and even if it did turn out to be powerless, it would fetch a high price at the Black Market on any day.

Ashton studied the necklace, lightly running her fingers over the crystal. Over the years, she had come to associate many emotions with the piece of jewelry. Pain, sorrow, hatred, and death were among the top. It was the last thing that she and Kilala had taken in their days as thieves nearly two decades before. She remembered the day that they'd been attacked as clearly as if it had just happened the day before. They'd been walking back to their village together when they were ambushed by the pack. Kilala had urged her to take the necklace to safety, and Ashton finally, reluctantly, agreed to. On her way back to help her friend, though, she had been ambushed by members of the pack that had decided to follow her. By the time they were defeated and she made it back to Kilala's side, she found that it was too late to save her friend. Kilala had been killed in the short time that she had been away.

Knowing that the villagers would blame her for the death, she'd left. Having no place to go, she traveled on her own, staying in nowhere for very long. That was how she spent most of the fourteen years between the death of her friend and meeting the people she was with now.

"She can't be back," the kitsune whispered, clenching the pendant in her fist. After a minute, she dropped it back into the drawer and slammed it shut. "I saw her body with my own eyes. There is no possible way that she's alive."

"Talking to yourself, my dear? I'm afraid that you always did have that terrible habit…" The voice made Ashton freeze where she was. After a long minute, she slowly turned away from the nightstand and rose from her bed. She found herself looking into the eyes of the one who'd died years before: Kilala Mitsuki.

"How are you alive?" Ashton quietly asked, staring at Kilala as if she would disappear at any given moment. The neko scowled, baring her teeth at her old friend.

"That matters not!" she snapped. She took a slight step closer to Ashton. "What matters is how I'm going to get back at you for allowing me to be killed. Maybe I'll do the same to you… Or maybe I'll go after that gorgeous redhead you've come to be so close to." Ashton blinked several times before she realized who Kilala was talking about.

"Kurama?" she asked. She glared at Kilala. "You leave him out of this! He didn't have a damn thing to do with you dying." The neko laughed before speaking.

"I must admit that you are right. It's your fault that I was killed. You abandoned me that day, but now I've returned with a vengeance." Ashton opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when Kilala produced a small fan and a vial from the inner folds of her kimono. The container was about half full of a pink, shimmery powder.

"What… What're you planning to do with that?" Ashton asked, taking a step away from Kilala. The neko grinned and pulled the cork from the bottle with her teeth. She poured a bit of the powder into her hand.

"Don't you worry about that, my dear. Sleep well, Ashton," she purred, putting the bottle away again. She opened the fan and blew the powder at Ashton. Upon breathing it in, the edges of the kitsune's vision began to blur. She fell to her knees, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Why are you doing this, Kilala?" she asked, her voice reduced to a whisper. The girl merely laughed as her old friend hit the ground, unconscious.

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**And that's that! :) Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.**

**Oh, and if you do bother to review, tell me who your favorite character is. It could be an OC or one of the original characters. It doesn't matter to me. I'm just curious to see what you guys like!  
**

**Much love,**

**Pandah**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm on the ball this week! Five chapters in just as many days! I'm really happy to be making so much progress on this story. Unfortunately. though, each chapter brings me closer to the end... But all good things have to end eventually.  
**

**This is the longest chapter so far. I didn't really intend for it to end up being as long as it is, but there was so much that I wanted to include in this chapter, and I didn't especially want to split it into two chapters. So all I can say is that this chapter is what it is, and I'm happy with it.  
**

**As usual, Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.**

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"She's disappeared?" Kurama repeated the words that had just been spoken to him. The voice of the usually calm redhead had changed just slightly, something that could only really be detected by sensitive ears. The boy sounded almost upset, more-so than he normally would have been, from hearing Madarao's words. The neko nodded a little.

"She was gone when I came back in this afternoon. I thought she might have gone out to wander the grounds or something, so I went looking for her. When I didn't find her, I was hoping that she had come back here," she said to her friend. The two were standing outside of Ashton's room talking. Kilala worriedly twisted the ring she was wearing on her right hand before continuing to speak. "But as you can see… Ashton isn't here at the temple." It was about seven that evening. The best the two could figure, Ashton had been gone for at least nine hours.

"Let's look at this all again." Kurama opened the door to Ashton's room and looked inside. At first glance, everything seemed to be in order, except...

"Ashton was not alone this morning," the redhead noted. He stepped into the room, a small frown gracing his handsome features. "There's a new energy signal here." A slight shimmer on the floor by the window caught his eye. He knelt down for a closer look, and he ran his fingers through the powdery substance on the floor.

"I've dealt with this stuff before," he told himself. He thought back to his life as Youko, when he'd once encountered the sleeping powder that now shone on his fingers. It came from a plant found only in the Demon World, and once it was inhaled, it went to work within a short amount of time, knocking the victim out for hours. Though it did not happen often, the sleeping powder was known to have other effects on the victim.

Hearing Madarao's footsteps behind him, Kurama rose. He showed her the powder on his fingers before he wiped it onto his shirt sleeve.

"I'm afraid that Ashton did not leave here of her own accord."

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The first thing Ashton knew as she came to her senses was that she had a pounding headache. The kitsune lightly massaged her temples as she sat up. She opened her eyes to find that she was in an unfamiliar room. She couldn't remember how she'd come to be there, but she had the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she didn't belong there.

The oak door was pushed opened, and a woman stepped into the room. She approached the bed that Ashton was in and bowed to her.

"It's wonderful to see that you're awake, princess," she said as she straightened up. She smiled cheerfully. Ashton blinked several times as she studied the woman and looked around the bedroom.

"Princess?" she repeated, her eyes finally resting on the woman again. She nodded twice.

"My name is Kilala, m'lady. I'm one of the servants here at the castle. We were afraid that you wouldn't remember… It seems that your traumatic experience has suppressed your memories." She sighed heavily and turned so that her back was to Ashton; she didn't want the girl to catch the grin that had lit up her face. Kilala walked over to a door on the other side of the room and pulled it open to reveal a large walk-in closet. She selected a dress of blue satin and black heels and then returned to Ashton's side. She gently placed the dress at the foot of the bed and the shoes on the floor.

"Please, m'lady, get changed quickly. Your father wants a word with you." Kilala bowed once more before leaving the room. Ashton ran her fingers over the satin for a moment.

"Something's just not right," she mumbled as she got out of bed. She couldn't place what it was, though, so she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. She dressed quickly and ran a brush through her hair, trying her best to untangle the silky silver strands. She finally gave up and left the room, listening to the gentle rustle as the satin rubbed against her legs while she walked. Kilala met her in the hallway, and she wordlessly led Ashton through the maze of corridors. After what seemed like ages, they made their way into the throne room.

"I have brought the princess to you, King Merihk." Bowing once more, Kilala took her leave.

The floor was tiled in marble, and Ashton's heels clicked lightly as she walked farther into the room. Corinthian columns stretched from floor to ceiling on the sides of the room. Crystal chandeliers lit up the room, the prisms casting small rainbows on the ceiling above them. Massive windows curtained in white lined the walls one after the other. A look at the outside world revealed little aside from snow; for as far as the eye could see, there was no vegetation.

"Are you feeling better, my dear?" The deep voice startled Ashton, and she whirled around so that she was facing the thrones on the platform in the back of the room. Chuckling, the man who'd been watching Ashton stood and stepped down onto the tile. As he walked closer to her, Ashton was able to get a better look at him. He was a kitsune just like she was. He was much taller than she was, even with her heels on. His hair cascaded down his back like a silver waterfall, stopping at his lower back. Eyes of liquid gold held Ashton's gaze, and though they were friendly at the moment, she couldn't help but feel like they hadn't always been that way. He seemed to be many years older than she was, but there was not a wrinkle to mar his sharp, clean-shaven features.

"I'm feeling fine now, sir," Ashton replied, gazing up at the man Kilala had identified as her father. He nodded and walked over to one of the windows. For several long minutes, he said nothing as he looked out at the snow covered land.

"The group that kept you from us for so long," he finally said, "will pay dearly for what they did. I do not doubt that they will attempt to take you again, my dear Ashton, but we shall let them try all they want to. We will be better prepared to protect you this time." The throne room fell silent, and it stayed that way until Merihk finally dismissed Ashton with a slight wave of his hand. After she'd gone, Kilala come into the room.

"This is working in our favor almost too well," the neko commented. She laughed. "I never would have thought that sleeping powder would also make her forget everything about who she really is." Merihk, at the moment, did not share Kilala's joy.

"It's far too early to be rejoicing," he told her. "Getting her here was not the hard part of this plan. Getting past those pesky detectives that she calls her friends will be the real challenge. When it comes to protecting the ones close to them, I've seen up close that none of them play around. We'll definitely have our hands full in the near future."

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Two days had passed since Ashton had disappeared. Kurama and Madarao had seen little sleep, having stayed awake as much as possible to try to track down any leads as to where their friend could have been taken. So far, they hadn't had very much luck. The group was currently sitting in Koenma's office waiting for the prince to make an entrance; the child sized ruler had called them in that day to discuss Ashton's disappearance.

"This toddler is wasting our time!" Yusuke exclaimed, frustrated. His words earned him a dirty look from Botan. The reaper opened her mouth as if to berate him, but she closed it again when the office door opened.

"You would do well to remember that I am far older than my dashing good looks suggest," Koenma said as he walked in. Instead of appearing as a toddler, he was in his teenaged form. In his arms were a manila file and a thick book, both of which he dropped onto his desk before sitting down.

"We have managed to pinpoint Ashton's location," the demi-god informed them. On the monitor behind him, a pair of pictures appeared. The one on the left was of a snow-covered town. In the background of it was a castle, of which the second picture was.

"Based on what you were able to tell us of the girl that recently showed up at Genkai's, Kurama, we were able to track her, and thus find Ashton and the man who we think is behind all of this, Merihk." He turned slightly in his chair so that he could see the pictures. He pointed to the first one. "This is the northernmost town of Winterhaven, located deep within the Silverloch Mountains. The castle that you see is Snowcrystal Castle." Koenma cleared his throat as the pictures were replaced by a third, one of a kitsune family of four, one male and three females.

"For centuries, Winterhaven was ruled by the Kumari family. Shown in the picture are King Adrian, Queen Takei, and the princesses, Delacora and Ismene," he explained. Pausing, he looked at his audience, a slight smile on his lips. "I believe you know Ismene better as Ashton Kumari."

"The hell?" Madarao exclaimed, eyes wide as saucers. "You're telling us that Ashton is some kind of princess?"

"Precisely," Koenma replied, "which is why we were not able to locate any records of her here. When she ran away from Winterhaven decades ago, everyone assumed that she was dead, when in fact, she'd only changed her first name. Anyway, King Adrian and Queen Takei married Princess Delacora off to the prince of another country years ago. Ismene, being their firstborn, was to be the ruler of Winterhaven in the event of their deaths.

"But when the two were murdered years ago, there was no sign of the princess, so the dynasty died with the king and queen. No one stepped forward to claim rule of the lands. The people grew used to living on their own and having control of their own lives." Koenma paused to take a breath, and Botan took the opportunity to ask a question.

"If the lands and people have gone for so long with no ruler, why would Merihk choose to kidnap Ashton? Even if she is Princess Ismene, it's unlikely that the people will allow themselves to be ruled again." Koenma laughed sadly.

"He doesn't look at it in the same way that you do, I'm afraid," he replied. "Winterhaven was known for having the largest, strongest army of the three worlds. If Merihk is able to put power into his hands through Ashton, there's no telling what destruction he'll be able to cause in her name. He could even potentially start a war between the three worlds if he so desired."

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**And that's that! Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.**

**I'm not sure if I'll have a chapter up tomorrow or not, because I have to go out of town tomorrow, and I'm not sure how late I'll be getting back home. If I don't upload tomorrow, I promise to have a chapter for you guys Friday!  
**

**Much love,**

**Pandah**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yes! I managed to finish this chapter in time to upload it tonight! Success is mine!**

**I don't have much to say about this chapter, really, except it is one of the last few of this story. If things end like I'm thinking they will, though, I'll probably write a sequel to this story. We'll just have to see, though.  
**

**As usual, Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.**

**

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**To say that Ashton was miserable would be the understatement of the year. Having been confined to the castle to 'keep her safe,' she'd quickly found out that there wasn't much she could do in the building.

It was about ten in the morning. Ashton had been awake for nearly an hour, but she hadn't motivated herself to get out of bed yet. She'd barely moved from where she was laying, content with staring up at the ceiling thinking over the dream she'd had the night before. She'd dreamt of a man with hair as red as the petals of the rose he was holding and eyes of emerald. They'd been sitting together talking, though she couldn't remember the conversation they'd been having. It seemed as if the man knew who she was, but she couldn't remember ever meeting anyone like him.

"If only he was real… I think I'd enjoy meeting him," she softly giggled, letting her eyes slip shut. She couldn't help allowing a childish smile to light up her face.

"Oh, act your age, Ashton…" she soon told herself. She sat up in bed and ran a hand through her hair. Once she was sure she'd worked out all of the tangles, she pushed the covers back and climbed out of bed. Set out for her to wear that day was a gown of white satin, embellished with glass beads. The neckline and hems of the three-quarter sleeves and the long, flowing skirt were ornamented with silver braid.

"These dresses just keep getting fancier and fancier," the girl commented as she changed out of her night clothes and into the gown. She'd turned to put her night clothes away when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the full length mirror. She smiled, making the comment that the dress seemed as if it was more suitable for some special occasion than for just everyday wear. She put the clothes away and then walked over to the French doors that opened out to her balcony. Throwing them open, she stepped outside, the frigid air caressing her face and lower arms. She let her hands rest lightly on the balcony's railing as she looked out at the land. Snow flakes steadily floated down from the cloud-filled sky so that a thicker blanket was made. To the west of the castle were the Silverloch Mountains, their peaks disappearing high into the clouds. There were no plants or animals in sight.

"It's nice to have such an amazing view from my room," Ashton happily said as she walked back into her room. She closed the double doors and then left her room. The hallways, as usual, were empty, but she could hear the buzz of activity from the first floor below her. Curious, she made her way to the grand spiral staircase. She peeked over the railing as she descended. She quickly discovered that all of the noise was coming from the throne room, so she opened the doors and walked inside. Demons of all sorts –she assumed that they were her father's servants– were decorating the room.

"Kilala!" Ashton called when she spotted the girl. She hurried over, casting another look around as she did. "What's going on here?"

"Don't you remember, m'lady?" Seeing the blank look that Ashton gave her, she sighed softly. "I keep forgetting that you've lost all of your memories… Tomorrow's your wedding day, Princess Ashton. Everybody's busy preparing for the ceremony and celebrations."

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"This snow's beginning to be a pain in my ass!" Yusuke exclaimed. Botan had dropped them off as close to the town of Winterhaven as she could without bringing unwanted attention to them. They had been traveling since late that afternoon, but although it was well after dark, they were still several miles outside of the town. The snow had been falling steadily since they'd arrived in the Demon World, and it showed no signs of letting up.

"Chill out, Yusuke," Madarao told him. Upon realizing what she'd said, she began to laugh. The detective glared at her.

"Sorry, sorry!" the neko told him when she stopped laughing. She smiled sheepishly. "But really, we're almost there! I can already see some of the town's buildings." The fact seemed to motivate the five, for it was not much longer before they were in the town.

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From the moment she was woken up the next morning, Ashton found herself rushed as Kilala prepared her for the wedding early that afternoon. Her strapless dress was one of white silk, with a long train and a tight-fitted bodice. Sequins and beads adorned the dress, sparkling in the light with each movement. Her hair was curled and pinned up, and a tiara of diamonds and sapphires rested atop her head. A strand of pearls and a touch of makeup completed her look.

"You look lovely, princess," Kilala commented with a smile. Ashton's cheeks colored slightly at the compliment. Hearing piano music from the first floor of the castle, Kilala picked up a bouquet of white roses and handed them to the princess.

"It's time, Princess Ashton," she cheerfully said as she led the kitsune from the room.

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The sound of Pachelbel's Canon in D filled the air, the notes carried to every corner of Winterhaven on the wind. Madarao's eyes narrowed as she studied Snowcrystal Castle ahead of them.

"The music's coming from the castle," she bluntly stated. Kurama nodded and followed her gaze.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" the redhead added.

They'd originally planned to not break into the castle until late that night when everyone would be asleep, but upon hearing the wedding music, they regrouped, quickly deciding that it would be best to enter the castle with no further delay.

The castle's guards were off duty, so it was all too easy for the group of five to slip into the castle undetected. The music was much louder in the foyer; it seemed to be coming from behind a set of closed doors off to the right. Ahead was a pair of spiral staircases. Through the music, a single voice from the second floor reached their ears moments before two women appeared at the top of one of the staircases. One was wearing a dress of pure white silk. The second was dressed in lilac. They caught sight of the group and froze, the second woman's words stopping in her throat.

"Ashton," Kurama said quietly, his words lost in the music's sweet notes as he caught and held the kitsune's gaze. Kilala did not turn to look at Ashton, but she said something to the girl, who nodded once. She dropped the bouquet, kicked off her heels, and lifted her skirts before she turned and ran down the hallway she'd come from.

"No, wait! Ashton!" Kurama yelled. Running up the second staircase, he followed after her, leaving his friends to deal with Kilala and any demons she had on her side.

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"You brats just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?" Kilala sighed heavily as she slowly descended the staircase. She watched the group closely, studying their expressions and movements closely. She pulled a fan seemingly from nowhere. She opened and closed it several times before reaching the bottom step.

"She's happy here," the neko went on to add. "She's getting married and beginning a new chapter in her life. Why can't any of you accept that?" Yusuke glared at Kilala and took a slight step towards her.

"Like hell she's getting married today!" the detective replied, fighting for his words to be heard over the music from the other room. "I don't know what you've done to her, but Ashton would never agree to any of this!"

"You just don't get it, do you?" Kilala's laughter filled the foyer as the music abruptly came to an end. "Ashton no longer has any say in what happens to her. And once we have what we want from her, she will be disposed of accordingly."

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**And that's that! Thank you for reading, and please make sure to review! Reading reviews makes me feel very, very loved, and they motivate me to continue on.**

**Much love,**

**Pandah**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight is finally here!**

**This is the final chapter of this story, I'm afraid. I felt that this was a good place for me to end it, but don't worry. If you liked this story, you can read the sequel that I'm planning on starting this weekend. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the title of it, because it doesn't even have one yet, so you'll just have to be on the lookout for it. **

**As usual, Yu Yu Hakusho rightfully belongs to the wonderful Yoshihiro Togashi, who, sadly, I am not. All I own are the ideas in my head and my OCs.**

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'Run and don't let them catch you. If they do, it'll all be over.' Kilala's words echoed in Ashton's head as she ran up staircase after staircase, through hallway after hallway. Behind her, she could just barely hear the light footfalls of the redhead who'd followed after her. She didn't look back at him, though. She was afraid that if she did, she'd find that he was much closer to catching up with her than she felt comfortable with.

Having only been living in the castle for a little over a week, she wasn't exactly sure where she was going. She knew that the castle had several different floors and many staircases, but she wasn't familiar with anything above the second floor. Reaching the top of one of the staircases, though, she found herself faced with a dead end and a tough choice. There was a door she could try her luck with, or she could let herself fall into the hands of the enemy.

Deciding to go with the first option, she pushed the oaken door open and hurried inside of the room. She slammed the door shut and slid the bolts into place. Turning so that her back was pressed to the door, her eyes slipped shut, and she released a breath that she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. From the other side of the door, she heard Kurama's footsteps come to a stop. The door knob rattled as the redhead attempted to enter the room.

"Ashton," he said when the door wouldn't open, "please open up and let me in. I don't know what they've done to you, but you're… You're not right, Ash. They're messing with your head or something. You wouldn't be letting this happen if you knew who you were last week." The fox sounded desperate, but Ashton didn't give him an answer of any kind. She opened her eyes and looked around the room as she moved into the center of it. The room was round, so she assumed that she was in one of the castle's towers. It was decorated in deep shades of red, cream, and gold. The walls were cream in color, with leaves of gold adorning them. A set of double doors opened out onto a small balcony that overlooked the castle's grounds.

"Too bad I couldn't have found my way here under different circumstances," Ashton muttered under her breath. The door knob rattled again, and she whirled around to look at it, eyes wide with fear. After a moment, the door opened, the lock having been picked by Kurama.

"Why won't you leave me alone?" Ashton asked, eyes tearing up. She bit her lip and took several steps away from Kurama.

"You don't belong here, Ashton," Kurama gently told her. He watched her carefully, afraid to step any closer for fear that she would do something she wouldn't under normal circumstances. The silver-haired girl shook her head several times.

"Don't presume to tell me where I do and do not belong!" she stubbornly replied. "You don't know me! Why are you even here? What do you want with me?"

"I want you back as my friend, Ashton," Kurama quietly told her. He held her gaze as he took a small step towards her. "We all want you back at the temple. We want to know that you're safe and happy." He started to say something else, but was cut off by Ashton.

"I am happy!" the kitsune informed him. "I'd be even happier if I didn't feel cornered right now!" Turning on her heel, she threw open the balcony doors and stepped out. Almost before Kurama had a chance to react, she'd jumped over the railing. He ran out and did the first thing that came to his mind. He jumped.

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An absolution. That was what Ashton had been searching so long for. She was ready to be free of the guilt she'd felt since she was a child. She was ready for the sweet serenity that would accompany death.

She was sitting in a chair in an unlit room. She was by herself, and the only sound was that of her breathing.

"What I am doing in here?" she thought aloud. She jumped to her feet when a voice came from what seemed to be nowhere.

"You're here to make a decision." On the wall in front of her, a slideshow of pictures began to play. She could remember some of them, but others were unfamiliar to her.

"You're here to make a decision," the voice repeated. "You can either return to the life you once led, or you can end it all right here and now."

Ashton gave the choices little thought before she uttered the words that would seal her upcoming fate.

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In retrospect, Kurama hadn't made the best choices in the past week. Reflecting back on everything, he realized how stupid it had been for him to jump over the railings like Ashton had down. He didn't regret what he'd done, though; he knew he'd do it all the same if he had the second chance to.

He remembered little about the fall. After jumping over the railing, the next thing he was able to remember was waking up in Spirit World's infirmary three days later. The injuries he'd sustained in the fall had healed already, so he focused his time and attention on making sure that Ashton was okay. It had taken two days for him to convince the infirmary's doctors to allow him to sit in Ashton's room each day to make sure she was fine. Two more days had passed, yet she still had not woken up. He'd been told that there was a good chance that she wouldn't wake up at all. Her injuries had been much worse than what he'd received, and for some reason unknown to the doctors, her body was not healing as it should. Their attempts at healing her had not ended as they'd planned.

He'd been told by Yusuke that Kilala had been defeated rather quickly. The neko had been locked up in Spirit World, sentenced to life in jail. Merihk had disappeared upon realizing that the detective group had shown up. He had not been seen again, but the group was sure that he would return soon.

Madarao had located Tefy in the castle after the fight with Kilala. The reunion of mother and daughter had been a tearful one, and the two had not spent any waking moment apart since then. With her daughter back by her side, Madarao had vowed to Koenma that she would continue to live in the light as she had been since going to Genkai's temple. She'd promised to give up the life of petty crime for her daughter.

Kurama had nearly dozed off when a slight squeak from Ashton's bed made him open his eyes. The girl had shifted her position slightly; it was her first movement since she'd been admitted to the room. He watched her with bated breath as her eyelids fluttered several times before the movement stopped. He'd nearly given up hope of her waking up when her eye lids opened. The kitsune slowly turned her head to look at her friend, and a tiny smile lit up her face.

"Hey, Kurama," she spoke in a raspy whisper. The redhead's eyes filled with tears as he hugged Ashton.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ash," he quietly told her. "Never again."

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**And that's the end of this story! Thank you to anyone and everyone who has bothered to read and/or review! Let me assure you, it has meant a ton to me. You guys are amazing, and this story wouldn't have been possible without you!**

**As always, please review. :) And be on the lookout for the first chapter of the sequel! I'll try to have it written and uploaded some time this weekend.  
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**Much love,**

**Pandah**


	9. Author's Note

I would like to again thank anyone and everyone who took the time to read this story! It has meant a lot to me, and I'm glad that I was motivated to finish this one and begin on its sequel, 'Have Faith in Me.'

Speaking of the sequel, the first chapter is now uploaded. Go look for it! I hope it will be as successful as this story has been!

Much Love,

Pandah


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